Woman hits gas meter causing gas leak, arrested for DUI

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) –  Lexington Police say that a woman was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence after striking a gas meter and causing a gas leak.

Police say the woman, Leigh Ann Layman, told them she was backing out of her driveway and looking for her boyfriend when the accident happened on East Loudon Avenue.

Court documents say police say they "smelled alcohol" and that the 35-year-old had "blood-shot eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on her feet." This prompted officers to give Layman a sobriety test, which Police say she failed.

Layman was arrested and taken into custody.

After the meter broke, neighbors told ABC 36 they could smell the gas seeping through their homes.

One neighbor says his kids smelled the odor when they were walking their dog.

Emergency officials quickly arrived on scene and as a precaution, evacuated some homes nearby.

"I though there’s no way it’s propane!," says T.C. Thompson, a neighbor who lives across the street from Layman’s home. "I got dressed and came downstairs and when I got into my hallway, I could smell natural gas so I went back in and told everybody get dressed, grab the animals, come outside. I get outside and the street was inundated with gas, so I started knocking on neighbors’ doors and tell them we’ve got a gas leak com outside," Thompson added.

"I didn’t know what to think," said neighbor, Ron Burton. "He just said there was a major gas leak and that  we might want to evacuate."

Firefighters tell us the leak was fixed and everyone  was allowed to return to their homes.  Crews also tell ABC 36 that no injuries were reported. 

Leigh Ann Layman is due in court Tuesday.